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The boss says “More parties, less meetings!” So . . .

Posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2018

Here’s our late winter and spring party list!

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness’s board chairman Doug Ferrell has noted that one of the reason FSPW is successful is because FSPW has “more parties and less meetings.” In keeping with that policy, FSPW is pleased to announce that the Friends have a couple of months of parties coming up.

Thursday, February 22, FSPW takes over MickDuff’s Beer Hall with a wild version of MickDuff’s-style trivia. Our first ever Wilderness Trivia Night will feature four person teams with a $5.00 team buy-in, and the option of buying an extra point (or two) for $5 each. Wilderness geek ringers may be available to the highest bidder. There will be prizes and bragging rights, of course. The night features no host pizza and beer from 6 to 8. The Trivia Contest begins at 7:00 (No Smartphones allowed.) Beer sales, pizza sales, entry fees, point purchases, raffles and judge bribes will all benefit Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness.

March 4 – 6, FSPW hosts uber-hiker Liz Thomas, whose new book “Backpacker Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-Hike,” is the winner of a 2017 National Outdoor Book Award. Thomas will lead a hike on Star Peak on the 4th before a gathering at the Outskirts Gallery in Hope in the afternoon for a social hour meet and greet and book signing. Thomas will also be signing her book at The Well-Read Moose in Coeur d’ Alene, at Bonners Books in Bonners Ferry and Vanderford’s Books in Sandpoint.

Tuesday, March 13, FSPW will be at the Pend Oreille Winery for the annual Sip and Shop event. This is a good excuse to have a glass of good red and feel good about the final result. The winery will donate a percentage of sales between 4 and 7 pm to the Friends of Scotchman Peaks.

April 4, Idaho Pour Authority will host our Winter Tracks Volunteer appreciation party, beginning at 5 pm. Georgetown Brewery will be there to help with the festivities, which will include a big raffle with prizes from FSPW and Georgetown. Winter Tracks volunteers will be recognized for their service in outdoor education, and those who wear their FSPW volunteer hat will get their first beer free.

April 5 and 6, Montana conservationist, wildlife expert and author Jim Posewitz will be presenting his new book, “My Best Shot,” in Libby. “Pos” will first be at the Cabinet Mountain Brewery Brews For Benefits night on Thursday, April 5, for a meet and greet and book signing. On April 6, he will give a free public presentation at the Maki Theater in Libby about his career with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.

April 20, Evans Brothers Coffee will be the venue for an artist’s reception for some of the FSPW “Extreme Plein Air” artists, including painters Ed Robinson and Aaron Johnson and photographers Joe Foster and Marjolein Groot Nibbelink. Their work — much of which will be for sale — will be hanging in the gallery at Evans Brothers from early April until mid-May. The images on display will all be of the Scotchman Peaks interior and gathered on one of the extended back-packing trip FSPW invites artists to participate each summer.

Just a little farther out on the calendar, beyond the May 15 advisory vote (find out more at www.voteforscotchmanpeaks.org) is the annual State of the Scotchmans event, to be held this year on Thursday, May 31, at the Oden Hall on Sunnyside Road. Mountain goat expert Gayle Joslin will be our featured speaker.

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness has a serious side as well, advocating for Wilderness designation for the Scotchman Peaks Roadless area northeast of Clark Fork; helping kids find out about the outdoors; taking care of trails and helping with weed eradication, whitebark pine propagation and mountain goat education. But, there’s nothing that says the Friends can’t have a good time doing all that. And they do.